The Phillies feel very fortunate with the catching situation in their organization. It was only a few seasons ago when no one knew who would take reigns from Carlos Ruiz, who was clearly on the downside of his career. Tommy Joseph had just suffered yet another concussion and his days a catcher were over.

Fast forward to 2016, not only was Jorge Alfaro destroying Double A pitching before his recent oblique strain, but Andrew Knapp has followed up a .360, 11 HR half-season at Reading last year by getting on base at .400 clip in the early-going. Is a call-up in the near future for the former second-round pick? Matt Veasey of That Balls Outta Here has story.

Vince Velasquez was the most intriguing arm acquired in the deal that sent closer Ken Giles to Houston. Most scouts were unsure if he would hold up a starter or have to be moved the back-end of the bullpen at some point. Following his recent dominance of the San Diego Padres, Velasquez has put his name along side Roy Halladay and Kevin Millwood as one of the best beginnings ever to a Phillies career, with much more to come, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

September 03, 2015

The Phillies have played better since Pete Mackanin has taken over the helm following the resignation of Ryne Sandberg. Mackanin, currently the interim manager, is being evaluated for the full-time position and his connection to his players, most notably the young ones, has caught the attention of plenty of people. He's earned the respect of the veterans, something Ryne Sandberg never seemed to have, and gets the best out of the young guys fighting for a place in the Phillies future.

While Mackanin hasn't made too many head scratching managerial decisions in his short tenure, one decision he made last night may have cost the Phillies the game. The Mets have won 14 out of 16 this season against the Phillies and they jumped out to a 6-0 lead in Wednesday's game, chasing rookie starter Aaron Nola from the game after four innings. The Phillies began to chip away and cut the deficit to 7-4 in the seventh inning. Darnell Sweeney homered and then Cesar Hernandez walked. After the Mets called a lefty from the bullpen, Odubel Herrera singled to put runners on the corners for the Phils with just one down.

With Ryan Howard due up, Pete Mackanin opted not to pinch-hit for the former MVP, but rather have him face left-hander, Sean Gilmartin. Though Darin Ruf had been used earlier in the game, the skipper could have gone with rookie extra-base hit machine Aaron Altherr or even Jeff Francoeur, who has been very effective in pinch-hit roles. Howard ended up grounding out into an inning-ending double play.

According to CSNPhilly.com, Pete Mackanin and Ryan Howard had a one-on-one meeting last month, when Pete told Ryan that he was going to start playing Darin Ruf when the team faces a left-handed starter. Also mentioned during the meeting was that Mackanin said he would not pinch-hit for Howard if a left-hander came into the game. There's the answer as to why there was no move made.

“I told him I wasn’t going to pinch-hit for him when we had our discussion,” Mackanin said. “I’m not going to play him against lefties, but I’m not going to pinch-hit for him.”

When pressed, Mackanin said it was a respect thing.

“Pretty much. He’s been hitting against lefties for a long time and I’m not going to be the one to pinch-hit for him,” Mackanin said.

Having a mutual respect for your players is one thing, but the smart decision there, no matter what, is to match up as best as possible against the left-hander. Ryan Howard was not the best option there for the team to win. This season, Howard is hitting just .137 (13-for-95) against left handers, striking out 37 times and tallying just five extra-base hits.

Over his career, Ryan Howard has a .220 average against lefties compared to his .284 line against right-handers. Last night, he went 0-for-4, leaving three men on base in the Phillies 9-4 loss.

August 28, 2015

The Phillies have been searching for their next franchise catcher for quite some time. It was nothing short of a complete accident that they fell into a converted second-basemen from Panama who would become of the most beloved players in the team’s history and will forever be known as "Chooch".

Carlos Ruiz’s time as the everyday backstop in Philadelphia is over. It actually has been over even before Ruben Amaro signed him to a three-year, $24 million extension before the 2014 season. Day-in and day-out, through two World Series appearances, a World Series Championship, a Roy Halladay perfect game, a Roy Halladay playoff no-hitter, and a Cole Hamels no-hitter in his finale as a Phillie, Chooch has been there.

In the countless discussions Amaro had with inquiring teams for Hamels he would always ask for that given team’s most talented catching prospect. And most times it was a deal-breaker. Hamels would have been a Red Sox a long-time ago if they were willing to part with switch-hitting Blake Swihart. His eventual destination, the Texas Rangers, at first squawked at parting with Jorge Alfaro. They later agreed and Hamels is theirs.

Alfaro is not the team’s first attempt to fill this black hole in the organization. Going back three years, the key piece in the Hunter Pence deal to San Francisco was top catching prospect Tommy Joseph. With his flashes of power, the former second-round pick in 2009 draft was viewed as a Mike Lieberthal-type, who could be Ruiz’ heir-apparent. Fast forward to 2015 and following several concussions, Joseph is now a first-baseman with a sub .200 average in AAA.

The best catching prospect Philadelphia has had in recent history has been Travis d’Arnaud. He was ranked as high as second in the system before be dealt to Toronto as part of the Halladay package. He was later traded again to the Mets for another Cy Young award winner, R.A. Dickey. Health has been his only Achilles heel. When not on the disabled list, D’Arnaud has been a great two-way player with massive power potential, as seen in the Mets’ recent four-game sweep of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

While the acquisition of Alfaro seemed to have finally filled the gaping hole, there are two other names that have quietly emerged and thrown their names into the hat for Phillies future catcher. Behind door #2 is Andrew Knapp. The 2013 second-round pick never really wowed anyone in his brief stint. In High A last season, hit just .157 and .262 this year, with just two home runs.

Knapp was pushed to Double A Reading mid-season and exploded. In 48 games, Knapp is hitting .381, with 10 home runs and 53 runs batted in. Knapp is a switch-hitter with a fairly patience eye. His previous high in home runs was five, so the recent power surge may not continue, but he will have to be watched for a possible promotion to Philadelphia sometime next year.

Finally, we can’t ignore Cameron Rupp. Long considered just a defense specialist, he has shared time at every level; never see more than 344 AB’s in a season since being in 2010. Rupp can throw with the best of them, but in 2014 when he was brought up from Triple A because of injury, he was batting just .165 over 219 PA’s. He went on to hit .183 in 18 games, but garnered great respect for his defense and game-calling.

Rupp's bat has come alive some this season, as he started as the backup, but has pretty much split the starts down the middle since June and with the promotion of several young arms that he has caught in recent years that Ruiz has not, Rupp will see more time as we wine down the season. His defense makes him the perfect second catcher to whoever wins the “catcher of the future” contest between Alfaro and Knapp.

The big money is on the top prospect Alfaro being he, along with Nick Williams, were the two biggest chips in the Hamels trade, but it’s a big credit to the Phillies brass that in a short period the catching position has taken such as positive turn.

August 27, 2015

Although second baseman Chase Utley was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, it's clear that the love affair between Utley and the Phillies fans will live on for a long time. On Wednesday afternoon, he appeared on WIP's Mike and Ike show to talk about his admiration for the hard-nosed fans that had his back throughout his time in Philadelphia.

Utley was quick to defend the fans, who are often portrayed as some of the worst in sports by national media.

“The fans, I think, bring the most out of players,” he said. "I think sometimes, they can crush some guys, guys that aren't mentally tough, but for the most part, guys that want to win, want to be out there, the fans are right there in your back pocket hoping you continue to succeed."

On Monday, Utley took out a full page ad in the Daily News to thank everyone from David Montgomery, his teammates over the years and the fans for contributing to his time in Philadelphia.

Since joining the Dodgers last Wednesday, Utley has hit 2-for-17 with two doubles and three strikeouts. He has played second base for them over the past week, but it was announced that he could see some time at third base once second baseman Howie Kendrick returns from the disabled list.

During the radio interview, Utley pointed out the role that the fans played in some of his favorite moments as a Phillie, specifically the way the fans went “completely nuts” after the comeback to win the NL East division in 2007 and how special it was to see “how much support was out there” during the World Series parade in 2008.

“The fans in Philly have treated me so well over the years. Ever since after my first at-bat when I struck out, when they booed me back to the dugout — ever since then they've been amazing to me,” Utley said. "Listen, I mean, I feel like I play the game the right way. I play hard all the time. I think the fans appreciate that. They appreciate the effort."

Utley was a fan favorite during his Phillies tenure for his intense style of play and ability to come up with a hit in the clutch. Of course, his memorable World Series parade speech in 2008 was one of the rare moments where Utley has relied on words to make an impression.He also touched upon his reserved nature in the interview.

"As far as being a vocal guy, you pick your spots. Obviously, when you say something you want it to be heard, but I feel like if you're always saying something, guys might not listen much."

April 10, 2015

Pawtucket-10 Lehigh Valley-8
• Chad Billingsley, in a rehab assignment, gives up four hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings for the IronPigs (0-2).
• Ironpigs bullpen (Jason Berken and Tyler Knigge) allowed 12 hits and seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.
• Maikel Franco was 1-3 with a double and a run scored.
Reading at Portland- PPD. Wet Grounds
Clearwater-2 Dunedin-0
• David Whitehead pitches six shutout innings, as he allowed only four hits and striking out eight batters for the Threshers (1-1).
• Drew Stankiewicz and Andrew Pullin each had an RBI for Clearwater.
• Domonic Brown was 0-2 with a strikeout in another rehab assignment.
Kannapolis-4 Lakewood- 3 12 innings
• Josh Taylor pitched five innings and allowed a run on seven hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter for the BlueClaws (1-1).
• Carlos Tocci went 2-for-5 with two walks, and his average is at .556.
• Rhys Hoskins went 2-for-5 and scored a run.
• Lakewood left 19 men on base, and was 4-for-23 with RISP.

April 09, 2015

Pawtucket 4 Lehigh Valley 0 (0-1) • Joely Rodriguez, in the loss for Lehigh Valley, allowed four hits and four walks in four innings. • Committed five errors in the game.

Reading at Portland – ppd. Snow

Dunedin 5 Clearwater 2 • Matt Imhof took the loss for the Threshers (0-1). • Imhof, allowed four hits and two runs in five innings. • Clearwater’s catcher, Andrew Knapp, went 3-for-4 with an RBI. • Domonic Brown, on a rehab assignment, went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts.

Lakewood 2 Kannapolis 1 • Carlos Tocci hit a single in the bottom of the ninth, to give Lakewood the opening night victory. • Ricardo Pinto pitched six shutout innings, and allowed only three hits, two walks and two strikeouts. • Tocci, went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored for the Blueclaws (1-0).